By Adam Haigh
June 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell for the first time in three days on speculation a 26 percent rally on the FTSE 100 Index has outpaced expectations for earnings and economic growth.
Lloyds Banking Group Plc slid 2.6 percent after receiving bids for 87 percent of the stock it was selling and offering the remaining shares to investors for at least 38.43 pence each. BAE Systems Plc, Europe’s largest arms company, dropped 2.2 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised clients to sell the shares.
The benchmark FTSE 100 Index slid 62.38, or 1.4 percent, to 4,376.18 at 8:22 a.m. in London. The gauge closed at 30 times the value of its companies’ earnings on June 5 after a 26 percent surge from its low on March 3. The FTSE All-Share Index dropped 1.2 percent today and Ireland’s ISEQ Index lost 1.1 percent.
The pound fell for a fourth day against the dollar as Prime Minister Gordon Brown confronted a fresh attempt to oust him after losing ground in European Union parliamentary elections.
Lloyds retreated 2.6 percent to 64.5 pence.
BAE Systems lost 2.2 percent to 332 pence. Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation to “sell’ from “neutral,” saying “the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments over the last two months confirm their desire to cut defense investment.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net.
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